Does male preference play a role in maintaining female limited polymorphism in a Batesian mimetic butterfly?

Abstract

Female-limited polymorphism occurs in multiple butterfly species with Batesian mimicry. While frequency-dependent selection is often argued as the driving force behind polymorphism in Batesian mimicry systems, male preference and alternative female mating strategies may also influence the maintenance of multiple female forms. Through a series of behavioural assays with the female-limited Batesian mimetic butterfly Papilio polytes, we show that males prefer stationary mimetic females over stationary non-mimetic females, but weigh female activity levels more heavily than female wing pattern when choosing between active mimetic and active non-mimetic females. Male preference for mimetic vs. non-mimetic females is independent of male genotype at the locus responsible for the female wing pattern, the autosomal gene doublesex. However male genotype does influence their response to active females. Male emphasis on female behaviour instead of appearance may reduce sexual selection pressures on female morphology, thereby facilitating frequency-dependent natural selection due to predation risk and toxic model abundance.